Telangana brings hope for other pending bills

The bonhomie between the Congress and the BJP to ensure the passage of the Telangana bill in Lok Sabha has given hope to civil society members that some pro-people, anti-graft legislations can also get Parliament’s nod in the remaining three days.

The bonhomie between the Congress and the BJP to ensure the passage of the Telangana bill in Lok Sabha has given hope to civil society members that some pro-people, anti-graft legislations can also get Parliament’s nod in the remaining three days.

Lok Sansad, a coalition of organisations seeking the bills, wants the government to adopt a similar approach for the bills.

“The coalition is demanding the passage of the Grievance Redressal Bill, the Whistleblowers’ Protection Bill, the Disability Rights Bill, the Street Vendors Bill and the SCs and STs [PoA] amendment bill,” Lok Sansad said in a statement.

Already, a consensus is there among the Congress and the BJP over these bills. But despite assurances from Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the government was finding it difficult to push the bills for consideration due to repeated disruptions.

The government wanted these bills to be passed after adequate deliberation as per BJP demand.

The plan can now change, with the BJP allowing the government to get the Telangana bill passed amid protests.

This had become possible after the government agreed to address concerns raised by the BJP and introduced amendments to the bill.